AU students are no strangers to the D.C. music scene. With venues from the Black Cat to the Verizon Center, the options for getting your music fix are endless. So when co-founder and owner of the renowned 9:30 club, Seth Hurwitz, came to speak at the Mudbox last Thursday, students filled the chairs to hear what he had to say.
The AU Lonely Hearts Band Club, formed this semester by a group of music-enthusiasts, brought Hurwitz to AU as the first guest-speaker in what they hope to be a series of speakers from the music industry.
Hurwitz is co-owner of the 9:30 club and Merriweather Post Pavilion, and he runs independent promoting companies IMP and IMA.
But Hurwitz wasn’t always such a titan of the music industry. Starting off as a radio-station disc jockey, he soon moved on to booking shows at the old 9:30 club, originally located on 930 F Street.
“Bands played at the old club because it was cool, it had a vibe,” Hurwitz said.
And, according to Hurwitz, not only did the old club have a vibe, but it had a smell too.
“The Washington City Paper had a ‘Name the Smell’ competition to name the smell of the old 9:30 club,” Hurwitz said. “Really, it was just a very distinct combination of beer, cigarettes, urine, vomit and body odor.”
The Black Cat opened around the same time that the 9:30 club was becoming a local hot-spot, creating competition for the 9:30 club that Hurwitz knew would affect business.
Closing its doors on Dec. 31, 1995, the 9:30 club moved to its new and improved location on 815 V St.
Some of the new location upgrades included more capacity, sight lines designed to see from anywhere in the venue, tons of air-conditioning, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a special exhaust system to keep out any mysterious smells.
“When we decided to have really good food, everyone told me no one goes to a rock club for food, but why not?” Hurwitz said. “Right away we kicked ass and the Black Cat was no longer a problem.”
As the 9:30 club grew, the decision was made not to have any sponsors or signage, making profits purely off of the shows.
“We sell escapism,” Hurwitz said. “We want our customers to go home thinking about the show, not the people or companies that put the show on.”
Hurwitz was also a vocal opponent to the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, making the case that such a merger would create a monopoly that would damage the business of independent promoters.
He was asked to testify before the Antitrust Committee regarding the merger. Despite the fact that the merger was ultimately approved, Hurwitz said he doesn’t believe it will last.
“The whole idea of the merger was to control the industry and charge what they want,” Hurwitz said. “In reality though, the Live Nation model cannibalizes itself. If you charge too much for one show, people won’t go to your other shows. Successful pricing is all about getting as much as you can without pissing people off.”
Hurwitz also received significant media attention for his production of Justin Jones under the name 9:30 Record Label.
“The 9:30 Record Label was just about Justin Jones, an artist I wanted to work with. I wasn’t about to start my own record label,” Hurwitz said.
In August, Hurwitz will be hosting yet another Virgin Mobile Free Festival, a free music festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, one of D.C.’s top amphitheater venues.
“I love FreeFest because I get to book the bands that I think are the best without having to worry about selling tickets,” Hurwitz said. “It’s a very liberating experience.”
Hurwitz has even in the past contributed to the music scene at AU, booking bands like Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam to play at Bender Arena.
For now, it seems the 9:30 club won’t be budging as one of the top music venues in D.C. With bands like Cake, Iron & Wine and Rise Against on their upcoming schedule, students will have plenty of reasons to procrastinate before finals.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
